


Treasure of the Sea

by hyperInactive



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: F/M, anyway this is a lot of fluff, bc ive got a Thing for mermaids whoops, for the tfw discord secret santa!, its a mer au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-28
Updated: 2018-01-28
Packaged: 2019-03-10 11:27:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13500832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hyperInactive/pseuds/hyperInactive
Summary: Barry gets a little more than he bargained for when he investigates something shining on the beach.  But, looking back, he wouldn't change a thing.





	Treasure of the Sea

**Author's Note:**

> hey two quick questions: 1) why the fuck am i so bad at summaries, and 2) why do i write so much stuff about mermaids  
> anyway, this is a secret santa fic for someone on the taz fic writers discord (they don't have an ao3 as far as I know?) anyway i tagged you on discord, this is for you, you're great and Happy Candlenights! (like,,,a month late lmao)

Humans have fantasized for centuries about creatures beyond their civilizations.  Creatures living in the woods and the sky, the depths of the sea and the tops of the highest mountains.  Creatures with wings, with tails, with powers beyond human ability.  Gods, dryads, elves, mermaids, gnomes, giants, creatures only seen by few and passed through stories to become legend.  Do they exist?  Nobody knows for sure.  

 

Well, nobody except those creatures, and those who are lucky enough to meet them.  

 

At first, Barry thought it was treasure, having sunk to the bottom of the ocean.  It happens often, shipwrecks from storms sending cargo to the deeps, where the tide sometimes brings it back to shore.  But the quick flash of gold in his peripheral vision was gone as soon as he turned his head, which made him purse his lips in thought.  He adjusted his glasses and kept walking along the beach towards Lucretia’s house.  He had work to do today, it was probably just his eyes fucking up again.  

 

Then he heard what was unmistakably a snort.  See, what he sorely lacked in good eyesight, he made up for in hearing.  He whirled around, scanning the sand and finding no one.  The beach was completely empty except for a couple a long ways away blatantly ignoring the ‘No Dogs on the Beach’ sign.  He kept looking,  _ certain _ that he heard something.  

 

_ There _ .  Under the pier, a quick glimpse of something blonde, gone in an instant.  Barry walked over, trying to be as quiet as possible.  If someone was trying to play a prank on him, he wanted to-

 

“-What the fuck are you wearing?” A voice spoke loudly as Barry ducked to looked under the pier.  He yelped and fell backwards, enticing a round of cackles from the creature under the pier.  And that's exactly what it was.  A creature.  

 

From his new position on the sand, Barry examined the not-human in front of him.  Almost white-blonde hair slicked back from the water with the tips seemingly dyed red, a blue eye and a brown eye glimmering mischievously, long pointed fins that were probably ears twitching occasionally and making multiple earrings jingle, tanned and muscular arms with translucent golden fins propped up against a rock and draped in metallic bangles, and a  _ tail _ .  A gorgeous, shining, ethereal, golden tail.  

 

“Hey dude, you okay?  I asked you a question.” The merperson spoke, their head cocking to the side.  

 

“Uh...I’m wearing jeans?” Barry struggled to make his voice work, those mismatched eyes seeming to look right through him.  A wide, toothy grin split their face.  

“Huh. Never heard of ‘em.  Anyway, m’name’s Lup.  I’ve never met a human before, Taako always tells me to stay away.  But he’s not here right now.  What’s your name?”  Lup said, shifting to sit on the rock rather than lean on it.  That just gave Barry a better look at the tail, and the shifting shades of gold that it seemed to go through as the sunlight passed over it.  

 

“Barry.” He answered, regaining a little bit of his confidence.  Not a lot, since the being in front of him was just….so incredibly beautiful, but enough that his voice stopped wavering.  Lup’s eyes seemed to soften a little bit, the harsh edge in the blue one fading away. 

 

“Barry.  I like that name.”

 

“Uh, thanks.  I like the name Lup.”

 

A light, almost unseeable blush spread across Lup’s cheeks.  Barry was certain his face was worse.  

 

Immediately after that, two things happened in tandem.  One, a head burst out of the water next to Lup, with identical blonde hair and a mirror image for a face, seemingly both worried, scared, and angry.  And two, Barry’s cell phone rang, Lucretia’s ringtone playing and alerting Barry that he was very late.  He scrambled to his feet in the sand, catching a small, slightly sad, goodbye wave from Lup.  He heard the other merperson telling Lup that ‘ _ humans are dangerous!  You could have been killed, Lulu, or put in an aquarium, and your scales could have been used as  _ accessories _!!!  Your scales are too pretty for accessories, Sis, please don't let your pretty tail be dishonored in such a way.’ _

 

That must be the Taako that Lup had mentioned.  Barry slowly backed up, still thinking that maybe he had hallucinated this whole thing, but also waiting for Taako to turn and see him and maybe attack him?  He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, only that he didn't want it to happen.  So he got a safe distance away before turning around and jogging the rest of the way to Lucretia’s cottage.  Those eyes stayed in his head, the swirling of the tail in the clear blue of the water.  

 

Lucretia opened the door before he even knocked, raising her eyebrows.  

 

“Barry, are you alright?  You’re awfully red.”  She said, and Barry flushed deeper just thinking about the reason for his red face.  

 

“What?  No, I’m fine, promise.”

 

Lucretia gave him an odd look as she stepped aside to let him in, but let the subject drop.  

 

“Alright then, let’s get down to work.”

 

* * *

 

The next day, Barry didn't even have to go out of his way down to the pier, Lup was waiting behind a rock as he passed along the beach.  

 

“Hey Barry!  My dumbass brother wanted to see that you weren’t, like, a mermaid hunter or some shit, so come meet him.” Lup called to him, after looking up and down the beach to make sure there wasn’t anyone else around.  

 

“Yeah, well my dumbass sister decided to come to the surface and talk to humans without letting me be backup or even  _ telling me _ , so now I gotta meet the dude she wouldn’t shut up about.” A voice reminiscent of Lup’s came from behind the rock, prompting Lup to roll her eyes.  Barry walked over, coming around to the other side of the rock where Lup’s brother was lying on his back in the water.  His long silver tail was stretched out in front of him, reflecting the sun off its scales.  He glanced up at Barry through half-closed eyes.  

 

“Oh, Lup, you didn’t tell me the guy was a  _ nerd _ .” He said, his eyes opening a little wider.  He also had one blue and one brown eye, only his were on the opposite side of Lup’s.  “There’s no way he’s dangerous, that’s all you had to tell me.”

 

Lup laughed and smacked her brother on the head.  

 

“Don’t be an ass, Taako.  Now you’ve met him, happy?” 

 

“Hold on, I still gotta be a good brother. Listen Barold, or whatever your name was, you’re a human, and humans don't have a great track record with merfolk.  If you ever hurt my sister here, intentionally or otherwise, there's gonna be an order to who gets a go at you first y’hear?  Wanna guess who’s numero uno in line?” Taako said, examining his nails casually. Barry usually would guess Taako, as he was eyeing his sharp nails with a look that told Barry he was wondering how much damage they could do, but he looked at Lup again and she raised her eyebrows at him. 

 

“Uh...Lup?” Barry said. Taako laughed lightly, a small surprised noise. 

 

“Wow, got it in one. If Lup isn’t available to kick your ass, well then I’ll gladly take the job but you seem like a decent dude to me.  I’m watchin’ you though.”

 

“Quick question though, why would I ever hurt her?” Barry asked, and Taako looked up at him, eyebrows raised.  

 

“Huh.  Good answer, my man.  Well, Lulu, at least I don't have to worry about you.  Don’t be too long, okay?  I’m gonna swipe us something good for dinner tonight.” Taako said.  Lup waved him off with a webbed hand and raised her tail fin out of the water.  Taako gave Barry one last warning look, then did a backflip underwater to swim away, his tail coming out of the water as he did so and the silver fin hitting Lup’s outstretched gold one.  Both her eyes and Barry’s were locked on Taako as he swam away, one out of curiosity, the other out of protectiveness.  Once he was out of sight, though, Lup’s eyes snapped back up to Barry.  

 

“So, jean-man, tell me ‘bout yourself.  You’re the first human I’ve met.” She said with a grin.  Barry flushed.  

 

“Uh, I do- I do science?” He said, immediately regretting his entire life.   _ I do science??? _ What the fuck, Bluejeans.  But Lup’s eyes crinkled as she laughed and Barry forgot to be mad at himself.  

 

“Really, you do science?” Lup teased, brushing her hair behind her earfin.  “What kind?”

 

“I, um, work with one of my friends analyzing the flora around here.  There’s a lot of interesting plants around here that aren’t found anywhere else.”

 

Lup looked thoughtful for a second before smiling slyly at Barry.

 

“Hold on a sec’, smart guy.” She said, before sliding off the rock and into the water.  He watched her swim away, knowing that every second he spent waiting was a second closer to being late to Lucretia’s again, but he couldn’t leave.  Lup burst out of the water a minute later, pushing her wet hair out of her face and grinning widely.  Barry noticed for the first time that her teeth were slightly pointed.  She also had a little gap between her two front teeth.  It was cute wait what?  

 

Then Barry noticed what she had in her hand.  It was a flower, deep red and luminescent, with hints of yellow close to the center of the petals.  Barry gasped lightly.  

 

“What  _ is _ that?  I’ve never seen anything like it!”  

 

“I’m not sure what it’s called, to be honest.  But Taako and I discovered it a while ago, it tastes really good, especially with salmon.”  Lup giggled.  “Figured you’d like it.”

 

“I- thank you.” Barry said, causing a light flush to appear on Lup’s cheeks.  “This is great, Lucy’s gonna love this.  Thanks, Lup.”

 

“No problem, it’s no big deal.” Lup waved it off.  Barry found himself just looking at her, and she looked back at him, and everything around them seemed to stop.  The only movement was the light shifting of the tide around her tail, and the small flutters of her earfins.  

 

How was Barry lucky enough to be talking to her?  Were they- was he  _ friends _ with a mermaid?  

 

Did he have a crush on a mermaid?

 

He wasn’t so sure about the answer to the first two, but the last one was an emphatic  _ hell yes he did _ .  

 

It wasn’t long before he had to leave, he didn’t want to be too late again.  At least this time he had an excuse with the unnatural flower that Lup had given him.  He said another reluctant goodbye to her, noticing the way her earfins drooped a little as he backed up.  As much as he didn’t want to make her upset, he was a little glad to know that she liked talking to him as much as he liked talking to her.  He knew nothing about her, though, which was a fact he was going to remedy as soon as possible.  

 

Lucretia opened the door promptly again, and sighed exasperatedly.  

 

“You’re late again, Barry.  What’s up with you lately?” She said, and Barry could hear the disguised worry in her voice.  He knew he couldn’t keep Lup from her for too long, Lucretia knew him too well and knew just how to get him to talk, and she would have a lot of questions about the flower.  Guess he should just bite the bullet now.  

 

“I, uh…..met someone?” He said.  Lucretia’s eyebrows raised, almost reaching her hairline.  

 

“You met someone?  Like...you’re dating someone?  Get the fuck in here, Bluejeans, you’re telling me everything.” She said, stepping aside so he could enter her house.  He protested a little, saying that he wasn’t dating anyone, but there was a very obvious unspoken  _ yet _ tacked on to the end of his sentence.  Lucretia sat down next to him on the couch and Barry sighed.  

 

“Luc, you’re really not gonna believe this…”

 

* * *

 

“You like him, don’t you?” Taako said, grinning smugly as Lup settled onto the coral next to him.  She curled her tail around his while rolling her eyes.

 

“Fuck off, Koko.  He’s just the first human I’ve ever met.”

 

“Yeah, and there’s a good reason for that?  Humans fucking suck?  I mean, this Barry dude doesnt seem dangerous, don’t get me wrong, but in general they’re pretty terrible.  Not to mention, I know what you’re like when you’ve got a crush on someone.” Taako nudged Lup with his shoulder.  She smiled a little.

 

“Yeah, you do.  You’re wrong this time though, sure he’s cute but I don’t have a crush on a human.” She said.  Taako stretched, his shoulder popping loudly.  

 

“Well, I can tell he’s super into you, so don’t be an idiot for too long, K?  Otherwise I’m gonna have to intervene.”

 

“ _ No, _ you’re not getting involved!” Lup laughed, tackling her brother off the coral.  They spun through the water, tails lashing and making clouds of bubbles.  

 

“So you admit there’s something for me to get involved in!”

 

“Shut the fuck up before I rub dirt in those shiny silver scales you’re so proud of!”

 

“ _ You wouldn’t dare, Lulu. _ ”

 

* * *

 

“Sorry, you met a  _ mermaid _ ?” Lucretia’s voice still echoed in Barry’s mind, a full day later.  She had been incredulous at best, outright unconvinced at worst.  But the flower had turned the tide a bit (pun completely intended), and Lucretia was instantly interested.  She wanted to know every detail, and Barry was pretty sure he would never stop blushing after having to describe Lup about five times.  

 

Lucretia wanted to meet them.  Barry wanted her to as well, he thought she and Lup would get along great, but Taako seemed wary enough just talking to one human.  Adding another one in would have to wait.  She had given Barry a day off today, taking pity on his stammering, and he knew exactly how he wanted to spend it.  

 

He was actually at the beach early, and Lup hadn’t shown up yet.  What if she decided not to come today?  What if she didn't actually like Barry and she decided to not come at all anymore?  She was a lot cooler than him, after all, he wouldn’t necessarily be surprised.  

 

This line of thinking led him to almost missing the flash of metallic in the corner of his eye.  He turned, grinning widely, and saw Lup swimming up to the same rock.  He was a little surprised, however, to see her brother behind her.  He didn't seem all that interested in talking to Barry.  

 

“Hey, Lup!” Barry said as she surfaced.  She pulled herself onto the rock, reaching out a hand to pull Taako up next to her.  

 

“Sup Barry.” She said.  “How’d that flower go over yesterday?”

 

“Oh my god, I think Lucretia almost fainted.” He said.  “I, um, I’m thinking of naming it after you, actually.”

 

At that, Barry’s face went dreadfully scarlet, as he processed that yeah, he just actually said that.  His only consolation was that Lup’s was red too, and seeing her blush just made him blush more.  

 

“Miss me with that hetero shit.” Taako mumbled, leaning back and laying on the rock.  Lup snorted, elbowing her brother in the stomach.  

 

“Oh shut up, dingus.” She chuckled, before turning back to Barry.  “So you’re gonna name that sweet ass flower after me?  What’s it gonna be called?”

 

Barry thought for a moment, trying to remember the name he had come up with in the dark of his room the previous night, when he couldn’t sleep.  

 

“I was thinking  _ Phoenigne Syreni _ ?  I mean, it’s not named like, the Lup Flower, but if you want it to be named that then that’s certainly an option I just thought a name that was associated with fire because of how the flower looks and then the fact that you’re a-”

 

“-Barry?  You’re rambling, hon.” Lup cut him off, a smirk on her lips.  Barry didn’t even acknowledge the ‘hon’, he was flushing anyway from being caught rambling.  He only did that when he got  _ really _ obsessed with something.  Or, in this case, it was probably more accurate to say some _ one _ .  

 

“Heh, sorry.” He said.  Lup shook her head.  

 

“Nah, it’s cute.”

 

Fuck.  He had it so damn bad.  

 

They kept talking about the flower for a while, until Taako groaned and flopped off the rock.  He pushed his hair out of his eyes when he surfaced and stuck his tongue out at Lup.  

 

“If you nerds are just gonna geek out about a fuckin’ flower for hours then cha’boy’s outta here.  See ya later Lulu, Barold.” He gave a very bad salute of sorts, before getting a wave from Lup and swimming away.  Lup leaned back on the rock, smiling fondly after her brother.  

 

“Don’t mind him,” She said, her voice lacking the admonishing tone that those words usually had, “That’s just his way of being considerate.”

 

“No, no I get it.” Barry said.  “You two really love each other.”

 

Lup laughed lightly, affection lacing the song-like sound.  

 

“Yeah.  We do.”

 

Barry leaned against the rock, his eyes slightly hurting from the sun reflecting off of Lup’s tail, but he didn’t care.  

 

“So, who’s Lucretia again?” Lup asked, turning to lay on her side and face Barry.  

 

“Oh! I mean, technically she’s my boss?  But, uh, we’ve been friends for years now.  I don’t really know why she’s my boss since I’m older than her, but she’s really smart and she loves what we do.”  

 

“She sounds cool.  Does she uh…” Lup paused, and seemed to think for a second about what she was saying. “Does she know about Taako and I?”

 

Oh.  Barry knew that’d come up eventually, but he didn’t want Lup to be afraid of Lucy.  He knew that Taako didn’t trust humans, what if they both stopped coming to see him?  He frowned and looked at the flat grey surface of the rock.  It was covered in a thin layer of water from mist off the waves.  

 

“I wasn’t going to tell her.  I would trust her with my life but I still would never put you or Taako in danger and that meant not telling anyone.  But she asked me where the flower came from and...I can’t lie to her.  She knows me too well.  I’m sorry I told her.” He said softly, not meeting Lup’s eyes.  She said nothing for a while before she sighed and sat up.  

 

“Let  _ me _ be the one to fill ‘Ko in on this m’kay?” She said, and Barry looked up at her in shock.  

 

“Wait….you’re okay with me telling her?” He asked.  She snorted a laugh. 

 

“You trust her, right?  Then she really can’t be that bad.  Taako won’t like it at first, he’s had some not-so-great encounters with humans before, but he’ll get over it, especially if I’m the one to tell him.” Lup answered.  

 

“She, uh, wants to meet you.” 

 

“Who wouldn’t?” Lup shot back, grinning widely, and then they were both laughing, the weird tension that had fogged up between them vanishing in the warm sunlight.  

 

It wasn’t until long after their laughter died down and they were reviling in the post-giggle euphoria that Barry noticed their hands had intertwined.  He saw Lup notice too, but neither of them moved to break them apart.  

 

* * *

 

The next day, Barry woke up late.  For the first time since college, he found himself falling out of bed while cursing his alarm, and rushing through his already scarce morning routine.  It wasn’t until he was halfway out the door that he remembered it was Saturday.  Lucretia had her shift at the library on Saturday, they never worked then.  He also remembered that ‘late’ for him is still 7 am.  

 

But Lup’s face flashed in his mind and he found himself running again, or as close as he could get to running while being as out of shape as he was.  It only took him a few minutes to reach the beach, sand kicking up behind him as he jogged towards the rock where they had been meeting.  He could see glimmering from behind it, which meant that one or more of the twins were there.  Slowing to a walk and catching his breath, he could pick up a conversation happening.  

 

“Lup c’mon, it’s so obvious.  Please just admit I’m right?” Taako’s voice was hard to distinguish from Lup’s, but if you paid attention then there were a few small differences.  

 

“I will never in my life tell you that you were right.”

 

“Ok, fair, right back at’cha, but hear me out.  We never wake up before sunlight enters our cove.  Then once you stay out all night, crash near the surface against my pleas, and start talking to Barry.  Now?  You’re up before the sun even enters homes on the surface!   _ Tell _ me there’s not a connection there, goofus.”

 

Barry heard Lup laugh and then there was the sound of moving water as her head poked up over the rock.  She still hadn’t seen Barry yet, she was still facing out towards the water and helping Taako up next to her.  

 

Taako’s eyes locked with Barry.  The merman winked.  Then he turned back to Lup with rapt attention as she leaned back on her hands and smiled at nothing in particular.  

 

“Listen Koko, you can pile all the ‘evidence’ you want, but if I have to watch you dance around your huge gay crush on that shark dude, then you have to watch me flirt with a cute nerd.  M’kay, dingus?” She said.  Taako’s grin widened, to the point that Barry would have believed  _ he _ was a shark dude.  Her face wasn’t facing Barry, but Lup visibly grew confused.  Then Taako’s eyes flicked towards Barry, and Lup turned her head.  Immediately her mismatched eyes widened.  She flushed from her cheeks all the way to the tips of her earfins, and she stared at Barry.  

 

Barry...well...he looked like a robot that had gotten water in its circuitry.  He couldn’t comprehend what the  _ fuck _ Lup had just said.  He barely heard what Taako said next, and frankly even though he heard it he didn’t really  _ hear _ it.  

 

“Aha!  I told you, Lulu, I always know when you’ve got a crush!  You don’t have to tell me I was right, I know it when I he-” 

 

Barry heard a splash as Lup unceremoniously shoved Taako off the rock.  He resurfaced with that wide, sharp toothed, shit eating grin still on his face.  Lup raised an eyebrow at him.  

 

“You know I love you babe, but if you don’t get the fuck out of here right now, I’ll bribe the fucking minnows into spelling out a love note to Kravitz for you.” She said.  Taako seemed conflicted for a second, his earfins fluttering rapidly, before he stuck his tongue out at Lup and swam away.  

 

Lup looked back at Barry, her face still flushed.  

 

“Uh...Barold?  Jean-man?  You good there?”

 

Barry blinked, returning to his senses.  

 

“Um...no?” He said.  Lup laughed.  

 

“Yeah, I  _ really _ did not mean for you to hear that. But, uh, it wasn’t a lie.”

 

“It- it wasn’t?” 

 

Lup leaned forward on the rock, her face just inches from Barry’s.

 

“Did you think it was?” She asked.  Barry smiled a little shakily.  

 

“I hoped it wasn’t.” He said.  Lup grinned back at him.  

 

“That’s what I like to hear.” 

 

Then she sat back up and patted the rock next to her, reaching out a hand to help when Barry struggled to climb onto the rock.  He settled down next to her, looking out over the water.  The sun had just finished rising, thanks to Barry waking up over an hour late, but it still burned on the horizon, almost turning the water a radiant shade of orange.  He looked over at Lup sitting next to him, and he lost his breath.  The sunlight was reflecting off of her eyes as she stared out across the water, making them look like pure balls of flame.  She had a light, soft smile on her face.  The fins of her ears were twitching every few seconds, sending the many piercings jingling (Barry would have to ask about why she pierced her fin, he was curious).  But his gaze kept coming back to her eyes.  They were so content, relaxed, and with the glimmer of the still red post-sunrise they looked supernatural.  Which, Barry supposed, Lup was.  

 

“So…” Barry started.  Lup turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow.  “Do you wanna...talk?  Or something?” 

 

“Sure,” Lup said, grinning, “‘bout what?”

 

“Uh...you?” Barry faltered as Lup started chuckling, but she was grinning.  

 

“What about me, smart guy?”

 

“Um, anything, really. I don’t really know you. But I- I want to.  I guess, um, what did Taako mean the other day when he said he’d, uh, ‘swipe something good for dinner’?” Barry didn’t really think he’d get that far, he hadn’t prepared a question. Lup laughed. 

 

“Oh that’s an easy one. Taako and I live alone. We don’t got the money to buy prepared food from other merfolk, so we take it. Or we just take ingredients and make it ourselves, either one.  We also just...take shit.  Like all our cool jewelry.”

 

“But, why do you live alone?” Barry asked, frowning. Lup looked at him, raising her eyebrows. 

 

“C’mon, you’re smarter than that. We’re _ orphans _ , Barry. Parents died when we were guppies, rest of the family didn’t want us ‘cus we were cursed, the whole shebang.  Only one of our aunts actually liked us but she died a few years ago.” Lup shrugged, brushing off the tragic backstory like it was no big deal. Then she grinned at Barry. “And I know what you’re gonna say. ‘Why’d they think you were cursed’, right?  Well, twins aren’t, uh, aren’t very common underwater. Especially identical twins. They kind of...don’t happen? Ever. So that in itself singled us out. Add in the fact that we were born under a  _ new _ moon, when the moon is a pretty fuckin’ big deal to merfolk, and everyone took that as a sign that we were unlucky. Cursed.”

 

Barry must have been looking at her sympathetically, because she rolled her eyes. 

 

“Don’t look at me like that Barold, we’ve been on our own for years now. We’re fine.  As long as we’ve got each other we’re good.  ‘Ko and I can do  _ anything _ .” She said, smiling softly out at the ocean.  Barry found himself smiling too, unconsciously shifting closer to her on the rock.  

 

They talked for hours, or at least that’s what it felt like to Barry.  He could sit here forever, next to Lup, with nothing around them but the calm crashing sounds of the waves resting like white noise in the backs of their minds.  

 

There was a part of him, somewhere deep down, that felt...different, as he sat next to Lup.  He didn’t realize it until he met her, but he had always felt like he was missing something.  Something in his life that he just couldn't put a finger on.  Maybe that’s what led him to helping Lucretia, to walking along this very beach, to sitting here at the edge of the sand with the one person who seemed to make that hole disappear. She seemed to fill every inch of him with a calm sort of light, even though she really wasn’t calm, and he did notice that he wasn’t the only one who felt different as they talked. Lup almost seemed to grow warmer, her smiles more genuine and wide. 

 

Over the next few days Lup grew even more open with Barry, sharing childhood stories and exchanging hobbies.  Even Taako had come back to talk to Barry, sometimes alone when it was Lup’s turn to go into the mermaid towns or whatever, and Barry enjoyed spending time with  _ him  _ too. As the days passed, Barry could almost see the rough edges of the mertwins being filed down, until finally, it felt like they couldn’t get any closer. 

 

He loved both of them.  Well, ok, he loved them in totally different ways.  Taako felt like a sibling he never had, a brother that teased the shit out of him but also cared….in his own Taako way.  Lup….he  _ loved _ her.  She was everything.  And she seemed to love him too.  

 

“So, Lucy’s comin’ over tomorrow morning?” Lup confirmed, running her thumb over Barry’s knuckles as Taako braided her hair.  Barry nodded.  

 

“Yeah.  She’s really excited to finally meet you guys, she’s been bugging me for the past week.” He said.  Taako mumbled something unintelligible from behind Lup, who giggled.  

 

“Taako says that she’s probably only excited to meet  _ me _ , since I’m probably the only girl you’ve dated.  That’s not nice, ‘Ko.”  There was a short laugh from behind her as Taako ignored the admonishment.

 

“Yeah, Taako, for sure.  And, uh, how’s Kravitz?” Barry asked, relishing in the complete silence that followed.  Lup peeked over her shoulder, grinning.  

 

“He’s totally blushing babe, good job.”

 

“I am  _ not _ blushing.”

 

“Uh huh, sure.”

 

The twins continued to banter, and Barry just watched.  Shimmering silver moonlight was streaming down, turning the already light blonde hair of Taako and Lup completely white.  Taako’s tail was glowing brighter than Barry had ever seen it, and Lup’s looked as gorgeous and shiny as always.  They loved it when Barry complimented their tails.   Lup turned to look at him, smiling the softest, most loving smile he’d seen in a long time.  Her eyes were paled by the moonlight, looking more mysterious and dangerous than ever, and the breath left his lungs.  He leaned farther onto the rock.  The edge’s of Lup’s lips curled up and one finned hand rested on Barry’s cheek.  

 

Then she tilted his head up, leaned down, and as their lips connected in tandem with a crashing wave, Barry realized he was right that very first day on the beach.  

  
He  _ had  _ found a treasure.  

**Author's Note:**

> before yall ask: Phoenigne Syreni is some bullshit latin that i pulled out of 3 sources: my ass, google translate, and the 4 years of latin ive taken from which ive learned basically nothing. Phoenigne loosely sorta translates to phoenix fire, and syreni literally translates to mermaid lmao.  
> i hope you guys liked this! i think it turned out really well.


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